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Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by announcing on Monday that he'll step down at the end of the month for health reasons. However, the twitterverse is abuzz with rumors about the supposed real reasons why @Pontifex renounced, ranging from sexual to corruption scandals. And recent speculation suggests the pope might have renounced because he is gay.

According to Gawker, though the Vatican dismissed the idea that Pontifex is resigning over "depression" or "uncertainty," Benedict's eight years as pope were marked by both a series of scandals and a "pronounced conservative turn." Sound familiar?

Benedict's resignation shouldn't be so shocking as the pope faced repeated calls to step down because of his handling of sex-abuse cases. He prevented a convicted child-molesting priest from being defrocked, and wrote a letter asserting "the church's right to keep its investigations into sexual abuse confidential" — among other "jewels."

But, as pointed out by Gawker, the sex abuse stuff "wasn't the only thing going." As a child, Ratzinger was a member of the (compulsory) Hitler Youth; and as a theologian, writer and administrator was a "reactionary, a deeply conservative figure" who repeatedly condemned the use of condoms even as they could save lives by preventing HIV.